HARTFORD -- Keno never really got off the ground after last year's reluctant approval in the General Assembly.

Now, with a projected surplus of $506 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, it's all but dead.

"Every budget is about making compromises," said Andrew Doba, spokesman for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. "Last session, the governor's goal was to pass a budget that continued to invest in job creation and public education, and to do it without raising taxes.

"Working with Democratic leadership, that's exactly what we accomplished. But we had to agree to Keno and other compromises to get it. It's good news that our economic recovery and state revenues have improved enough that we can consider this item now."

Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, said Wednesday he would work with other legislative leaders to repeal last year's Keno approval. Projected to earn the state about $31 million in new revenue over the first two years, the electronic lottery-type game required a negotiated deal with the two Indian casinos before Keno could be put in bars and restaurants.

Its projected cost was about $5.4 million for installing Keno terminals for betting and viewing in about 2,800 locations statewide.

Sharkey made his announcement at the annual conference of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns in Cromwell. He said that since Keno has yet to be implemented, its repeal is now appropriate.

"Keno was a late addition to the budget last year as a way to help fill a budget hole, but now the revenue is not needed, so I don't see a reason to go forward with it, particularly when it hasn't even started," Sharkey said in a statement. "There was never really a groundswell of support for Keno. It was simply a revenue option that was put on the table during budget negotiations at the time and was acceptable to the governor."

Last year, opposition to expanded state gambling was trumped by budget problems.

But negotiations with Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, the Indian casinos that have monopolies on all gambling except lottery games and pari-mutuel wagering, never really progressed. Increasing state revenues, fueled by sales, gasoline and income taxes, made Keno less attractive.

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, said the announcement coincided with recent poll results that showed waning statewide support for Keno.

"I opposed the legalization of Keno from the moment it was introduced by the speaker and Senate president and signed into law by Gov. Malloy," McKinney said in a statement. "It is not surprising that the governor and speaker had a change of heart shortly after a political poll found that the vast majority of Connecticut residents oppose their plan. But regardless of their motivation, it is in Connecticut's best interest to stop Keno."

"I think that it's well-known that I've have never been a supporter of Keno, and I share many of the concerns first raised by Sen. Andrea Stillman (D-Waterford) and now Speaker Sharkey," Williams said. "I look forward to discussing this, as the session progresses, with the members of my caucus."